Ren Tao and Jaden Takahashi
by Jaden Tao
Summary: Ren meets a girl with the same fate as him. Through chapters more is revealed about her life
1. Chapter 1

Ren Tao and Jaden Takahashi  
First Meeting  
I was sitting on a bench at the park, just watching the happy couples go by. I never understood why there were so many couples here. _This is a park, not some fancy romantic place, _I thought jealously. I always wanted what they had. Love. Knowing that someone cares about them must be the best feeling in the world. I let my tears roll down my face silently, hoping that no one would notice me, the quiet girl just sitting on the bench, taking up space.

I suddenly felt a warm hand on my shoulder. _Great. Someone did notice me, _I thought. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I turned around to find a boy standing behind me. He looked like he was about fifteen and he had the most beautiful green eyes I ever saw. _What does he want from a girl like me? I'm not pretty or anything_, I thought but I coldly said "can I help you?". He sat down next to me and said "Why are you crying? I see nothing wrong". I was about to say that I wasn't crying but it was allergies but I doubted he would believe me, he seems smarter than that. Instead, I told him it was nothing important. He disagreed with me saying that he thought it was important so I told him why I was crying and that I feel stupid for crying over nothing. "It's not 'nothing'. I know how you feel". He looked away when he said this.

Suddenly he turned back to me and said "Hey! I have an idea!". He stood up and took my hand. I wasn't sure what he was doing, but I followed him. He took me to a bridge and he walked off. I wasn't sure if he was abandoning me so I stood there waiting, looking into the water. It was about a half hour later when I decided he wasn't coming back. I turned around and walked away from the bridge thinking _I can't believe I fell for his trick. _As I was walking I saw him walking towards me. "What do you want from me? I don't even know your name." He held out a black rose and said "I am Ren Tao and I am also curious about your name". I took the rose and said "I am Jaden Takahashi". He looked at the sky and said "It's getting dark. Would you like to...um...stargaze with me?" he blushed. I wasn't sure what to say to him, I wanted to say yes but I wasn't sure whether or not I should.


	2. Chapter 2

**Stargazing**

Once I said yes to him, it was agreed that we were to meet at seven. We were to meet at "our" bench. This was the bench that I sat at when we first met.

At seven I went the park where Ren sat, waiting for me. He escorted me to the cemetery where there was a blanket spread out. We sat down on the blanket and watched the stars. After a while, Ren's hand reached over to mine. I glanced over at him and he smiled. Then he spoke to me for the first time that night, saying "the stars are so beautiful tonight. Almost as beautiful as you." He leaned in to kiss me, we were inches away from each other when we heard a rustling. We looked around to see what the rustling was. Then there were voices in the bushes saying "Ow! Stop pushing! That was my foot moron!". Then the owners of the voices stumbled out of the bushes and looked straight at us.

Ren stood up, obviously furious at them. One of the boys, with blue hair said "I thought you didn't like girls.""Yeah. Aren't you going to introduce us?" said another boy with headphones. Ren glared at them for a few moments but finally said "this is Horohoro, Yoh, and Ryu". I just smiled, feeling awkward. Ren opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Horohoro who smirked and said "Well don't let us get in the way of your 'date'". Ren grabbed Horohoro's collar and was about to punch him, but I grabbed his fist, looking him straight in the eye and said "Please, not on the first date". He released the stunned Horohoro who fell backwards. Ren took me by the arm and led me away.

He took me back to my house and told me that he would like to see me again. We agreed to meet next Friday. We stood on the porch for a few moments and I said "tonight was fun". "Sorry about my friends" said and kissed me lightly on the cheek. He walked away smiling. The next week flew by and before I knew it, it was Friday.


	3. Chapter 3

**Family Tradition**

At four there was a knock on my door. I answered the door, assuming it was Ren. Instead, there was a girl standing, looking down at me. "Are you Jaden?" she asked. "Yes. May I ask why?" I politely said. She grabbed my arm and took me away. She walked so fast I had to run to keep up. She ignored every question I asked and kept walking. She finally stopped in front of a mansion.

"Is this your house?" I asked as she brought me inside. She led me into an enormous living room where I found Ren sitting with a large man. The man ordered me to sit on the couch next to Ren. The girl also took a seat. "Is this Jaden Takahashi the Itako?" the man asked Ren. "Yes father" Ren answered. "Good work Jun" the man said to the girl. He turned back to Ren and said "As a Tao, you must marry before you reach the age of sixteen. This is why I brought this girl. Do you understand?" Ren looked down and answered "yes father". I looked at Ren wondering why he wasn't defending us. I stood up and said "I can't marry him! I'm too young! I'm only thirteen! We just went out once! We didn't even kiss!" Ren looked at me, terrified. "SIT DOWN! I will NOT stand for such manners in MY HOUSE!" the man stood up, shaking with rage. He grabbed me shoved me into a cellar. "Father, please don't do this" I heard Ren saying. His father threw him down the cellar stairs. He, then, slammed the door and locked it.

I looked around the basement. It had a red carpet and black walls. The whole theme of the room was red and black but it looked like a bedroom. When all of what happened caught up to me I fell to the ground sobbing. Ren punched the wall and said "How could he do this to me? I'm his son!" He lnelt down beside me and said "Don't worry. We'll find a way out of here. I promise."I looked at him and he took me into his arms. There was a thud upstairs and a voice shouting "The manners of that girl. And to think that she is a shaman!". Ren looked at me surprised and asked "Is this true?".


	4. Chapter 4

**Confessions**

"Didn't you hear your father call me an Itako?" I asked. "No. I didn't really hear what he said. Why didn't you tell me?" "I was afraid. Afraid that you wouldn't like me anymore" I confessed. "Why wouldn't I like you? I'm going to become Shaman King." He kissed me on the lips, blushed, and stood up.

I spent the rest of the day roaming around the basement. It wasn't until Ren announced that he was going to bed that I gave up my roaming. I tried to fall asleep on the couch but it was so cold. I ended up just laying there, shivering. I heard soft footsteps coming towards me so I closed my eyes and faked sleep. I heard Ren whisper "I know you're not asleep" and I felt him pick me up. He put me on the bet and tucked me in. He whispered "Good night, Jaden" and kissed my forehead. He got into bed next to me, trying not to disturb me, and fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up when I heard the shower running. I looked around and tried to figure out where I was. I soon remembered all that happened. Ren came out and noticed I was up. "Oh! You're up" he said and went to the closet. "Where did these clothes come from?" I asked. He looked at me, sighed, and sat down next to me. "I have something to confess" he said and looked away from me. "What?" I asked. "It was partly your parent's idea to lock us down here" he said, "that's why they weren't home when Jun took you. They feel guilty." I wasn't sure if I should believe him, he seemed nice, but this sounded like a lie. "Why would they do this?" I asked. "The Shaman population is decreasing" he said.

The rest of the day was spent in silence. We avoided contact with each other. It was a tense silence, an awkward silence. He seemed too ashamed to speak to me and I was too afraid to break the silence. The only time we spoke was when he announced that he was going to bed. I stayed awake for awhile, thinking of my parents. _Were they only desperate to get rid of me or did they really agree to this for the reason Ren said, _I wondered. When I finally fell asleep, I had a dream, only it wasn't a dream but a memory.


	5. Chapter 5

**Decisions**

When I woke up the next morning, I felt awful. My stomach felt sick, I felt like I had a fever, my throat hurt, and I felt extremely weak. I felt like I couldn't do anything. When Ren asked if I was alright I told him that I just needed to rest. I didn't want to make a big deal out of this. I ended up sleeping through the entire day. When I woke up the next day I felt worse. Now I had an extremely bad headache. I told Ren that I felt a little sick but he was still really worried about me. "Why don't I get Jun" he suggested. "No" I said, "wait until tomorrow."

The next day I felt like I might die. Ren went to get Jun. He stood at the top of the stairs, banging on the door and calling "Jun! Help!" When she finally came downstairs, she saw me and said "Let me get father." She went upstairs to find him. "Please. Not him" I said, just barely. "Don't worry" Ren said and he took my trembling hand. His father, En Tao, came downstairs. He walked over to the bed and stared at me for a few seconds. He put his large hand on my forehead and said "This is incredibly serious; if you stay down here much longer you will die. You can get engaged or die. These are your only two options. You have one hour to decide." He went upstairs and left us alone.

"I've always wanted to know what heaven looks like" I said. "No! You can't die!" Ren said, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I wish we hadn't met. Then this never would have happened" he sobbed. I also started crying. "I don't want to die. I'm afraid" I confessed. "I love you" he said, trying not to cry. "I love you too" I said and he sat next to me. He held me and tried to comfort me.


	6. Chapter 6

Final Answer

We just sat there, crying, until En came downstairs again. "Have you made your decision yet?" he asked.

Me and Ren looked at each other and he said "we have".

"Well? Do you agree to marry him?" En asked me. I froze, the sight of him making me tremble with fear.

"She does" Ren said for me.

"I want to hear it from her!" En snapped.

"I do" I said blankly.

"Good" he said, "I'll let you out tomorrow".

""WHAT?!" Ren yelled, standing up, "you said she was extremely sick! She could die tonight!"

En smiled wickedly and said "she won't".Without another word, he left.

"How does he know?" Ren asked angrilly, sitting back next to me.

The next day I woke up when I heard a crash and En's booming voice.

"Get up! I should have never asked you for your help! I told you to get up! And pick up what you dropped! That's right! All of it!" he shouted. Ren was still asleep next to me. I saw Jun on the ground, struggling to stand.

"Get up!" En shouted again, kicking Jun. She fell over with a yelp of pain.

"Up now!" he shouted, grabbing her by her hair. Before I knew what I was doing I was out of bed and yelling at him.

Despite my previous illness, I seemed to have alot of energy.

"Stop!" I shouted.

"Excuse me?" he asked, turning on me. With one swift movement of his hand, he knocked me on the ground and was beating me.

Ren woke up when he heard me cry out in pain.

The last thing I remember was his voice shouting "Stop! Leave her alone! What if you kill her?! Then who would I marry?!"

_"I'll find someone else" En said._

_"Oh yeah, because there are tons of other shaman girls out there" Ren said sarcastically. _

_"Do NOT disrespect me1 You are an insult to the Tao name! How dare you talk to me like that!" En shouted, punching Ren. Ren quickly stood up and prepared to fight._

A/N: The italics are to resemble what happened after Jaden passed out. Arigato for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

**Fight**

"You're not worth my time, boy" En said, pulling out a knife. By this point I had regained consciousness.

"No!" I sobbed, standing shakily in front of Ren.

"Move" En said, shoving me out of the way.

"Do _not_ do this" Ren said. En charged at him, but Ren quickly got behind the door.

"You forgot your little girly" En said, turning on me. He began to approach me, knife raised. I quickly stood up again, prepared to fight. I knew it would be a losing battle but I wasn't ready to give up yet.

"Do you honestly intend on fighting me?" he asked. I stood there, trembling. "You're a lot stupider than I thought" he said.

"Says the man who thinks 'stupider' is an actual word" I snapped, quickly biting my tongue afterwards.

"Are you mocking me?" he asked, infuriated.

"Would you be able to tell if I was?" I asked, my mind screaming _Shut up! Shut up already, you idiot! Do you want to die?!_

He shoved me to the ground, jabbing the knife into my stomach. I used the last of my remaining strength and screamed as loud as I could.

"Jaden!" Ren shouted, running towards me.

"You're too late. Especially considering her weakened state" En chuckled, turning to Ren.

"Run" I gasped.

The room around me grew dark and I felt strangely light.

"Hang in there Jaden! Jaden! JADEN!"Ren yelled in the echoing distance. I was numb with pain. Suddenly I felt something wet on my cheek. I opened my eyes and saw a tear roll down Ren's cheek.

"I'm sorry to have gotten you involved" he whispered.

"I'm not" I said, forcing a smile onto my pained face. "Am I going to die?"I asked, my smile fading.

"No. I won't allow it" he promised.


	8. Chapter 8

**Empty Promises**

"What...control...do you have...over my life?" I asked.

"I can't control whether or not you'll die" he confessed, "but I will get you out of here."

"Over here, you fool" En said, grabbing me by my hair. I winced in pain.

"Drop her" Ren said, fury sparkling in his eyes.

"Or what?" En asked mockingly. Ren punched him hard in the gut, causing him to pass out. I fell to the ground, limp. By now I had lost so much blood that my life was on the line with every passing second.

Not even five seconds later, En was on the ground, blood spilling from his broken nose. Ren picked me up and began carrying me upstairs.

"Is...he..." I struggled to say.

"Don't worry. He's not dead. I'd only be so lucky" Ren said. I looked back at his motionless body.

I closed my eyes and nestled up to Ren's warm body. I could feel myself begin to slip into death. I had a dreadful feeling that death was closer now than ever before.

The last thing I remember was a siren and voices.

When I opened my eyes again I was in a white room. There was a woman in white standing next to me, sticking a needle in my arm. I was attached to many machines, few which I understood their purpose. The woman finished her business and left the room, her footsteps echoing.

There were more footsteps entering the room and the door slammed. The steps approached my bed, and when I looked over I saw Ren.

"Hey" he said, taking my hand.

"Hey yourself" I said, plastering a fake smile across my face.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine" I lied, avoiding eye contact.

"I guess we can't have a normal relationship" he said, sounding disappointed.

"It may not be normal, but that doesn't mean we can't have a relationship" I said. He nodded, now seeming slightly better.


End file.
